First Lawbreakers patch nerfs overpowered abilities

Lawbreakers [official site], as I wrote yesterday, is an excellent zero-gravity FPS that you should probably play if you like fast-paced action. It’s also a very balanced game, with no one class able to dominate. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t the odd tweak to be made, and developers Boss Key Productions have released the game’s first post-launch patch with welcome nerfs to some classes.

The Harrier’s Convergence ability is their first target. It’s a giant, powerful laser beam that she shoots from her chest and kills you before you have time to react. So, its base damage has now been bumped down from 500 DPS to 400 DPS to “make it easier for coordinated teams to take advantage of Harrier’s vulnerability” (she can’t move very much when she fires it). I approve.

I pretty much agree with all of the changes, actually. Gunslinger was a real wrecking ball and his damage has been dialled down as well. A fully charged shot from his Omega, his most dangerous weapon, now deals 150 damage instead of 160. To make up for it, he’s getting more mobility: if you land a fully-charged headshot with Omega you’ll immediately replenish the charge for Warp, which allows him to dash short distances. Warp now also gives you more momentum than before, so he can get around the map a bit quicker.

The ultra-mobile Wraith is the last to be given the once over. Her knife is now less potent – previously it ripped enemies to shreds in one or two strikes, and you could pretty much spam it. Instead of dealing 125 damage it will now deal 75. But you can still get the old damage back provided you head stab (let’s wait and see how the hit box pans out on that one).

Good news for loot hunters, too: you can now open stash boxes while queuing for a match rather than having to quit to the main menu, which was pretty frustrating even if you didn’t care about the weapon skins. There’s a few other bug fixes, which you can read in the full patch notes.

All in all, a decent first patch that shows the team is thinking about the balance of the game.